Telmisartan use reduces risk of dementia in hypertensive patients with Type 2- DM: Study
Administering Telmisartan in type-2 diabetes patients with hypertension is linked with reduced risk of dementia and ischemic stroke, suggests a study published in the Plos Medicine journal.
There have been various studies advocating the use of Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) for managing dementia in patients with hypertension.
However, if telmisartan, an ARB with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ)–modulating effects, has any more benefits compared to other ARBs remains un-documented.
A study was conducted by a group of researchers from Taiwan, to compare the prolonged outcomes of telmisartan use with the use of other ARBs in East-Asian type-2 diabetes patients with hypertension.
The researchers selected a total of 2,166,944 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. Patients with hypertension being treated with ARBs were included in the study. Patients with a history of stroke, traumatic brain injury, or dementia were excluded.
Finally, 65,511 eligible patients were divided into 2 groups: the telmisartan group and the non-telmisartan ARB group. There were 2,280 and 9,120 patients in the telmisartan and non-telmisartan ARB groups, respectively.
Cox proportional hazard model was used to compare the risks between both the groups and the statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
The primary outcome was the diagnosis of dementia.
The secondary outcomes included the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease and occurrence of symptomatic ischemic stroke (IS), any IS, and all-cause mortality.
The findings of the study are as follows:
· Lower risk of dementia diagnosis was seen in the patients in the telmisartan group as compared to the non-telmisartan Angiotensin receptor blockers group.
· Also, a lower risk of dementia diagnosis with ischemic stroke as a competing risk and with all-cause mortality as a competing risk was seen in the patients in the telmisartan group.
· Additionally, the telmisartan group showed a lower risk of any ischemic stroke during long-term follow-up.
The researchers concluded that telmisartan use in type-2 diabetes patients with hypertension may be associated with a lower risk of dementia and any Ischemic stroke events in an East-Asian population.
Reference:
A study titled, "Telmisartan use and risk of dementia in type 2 diabetes patients with hypertension: A population-based cohort study" by Liu C et. al published in the Plos Medicine journal.
